SANGUEM: The pandal erected by the Water Resources Department for the Independence Day felicitation function planned for the 400 farmers benefiting from the Selaulim Irrigation Project, unexpectedly collapsed on its own on Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, as the site was unoccupied when the incident transpired, according to sources.
Erected within the precincts of the Selaulim Dam, the pandal was intended to host an event attended by approximately 800 people.
Following the collapse, the Department has reportedly initiated efforts to establish a replacement pandal at an alternate site within the Dam premises by Monday morning.
On August 11, the Selaulim evacuees implored the government to relocate the felicitation function away from the Dam precincts, which was once home to 79 evacuees. They asserted that celebrating farmers who use Selaulim Dam water was unjust, while they had sacrificed ancestral lands and 40 years later, are still awaiting compensation—housing and agricultural plots. Some threatened to wave black flags at dignitaries and Ministers attending the event.
Following the pandal collapse, the protesting evacuees perceive divine intervention and now urge the government to expeditiously address their grievances.
